The Department of Rural Development Science of Arul Anandar College started its journey with the aim of taking "University Education towards the villages." In working towards this, the department staff members put their heart and soul into developing the students' knowledge and skills to make them as Rural Development Personnel. It is mandatory because they will be the tomorrow's Agents of Social Transformation. We started this venture by upgrading the department from an UG degree to the Centre for Research and also developing an updated curriculum, practical programme and other extension activities. The course syllabus is restructured every three years in consultation with subject matter experts, industries, alumni, and other stakeholders.
The uniqueness of this course is the teaching-learning process as “practical learning". It means learning by doing. What the students learn in the classroom will be practiced in the field. This gives them the experience of "hands-on training". This paves the ways to put theoretical knowledge into practical knowledge. For further enrichment of practical knowledge and skill, the students are taken regularly to the villages during the semester. Students study and analyze the actual reality of village situations and gain practical experience. The experience they get in the field has a more lasting impact on the students' learning and enhances classroom interaction. This field-based experiential knowledge enriches the classroom learning of the students.
The great architects and stalwarts who designed the degree programme, B.Sc., Rural Development Science, were Fr. Rajanayagam, Prof. Gananam and Dr Jeyaraj. They envisaged the course in such a way that Students- Field - People are intertwined and inseparable in nature. Most part of the course, students should be with the people in the fields. Later, the same course was restructured into a classroom-oriented programme according to the curriculum design given by the university. Realizing the nature and content of the course and the need for the employability skills and knowledge of the students, the needs of industries and other stake holders, from the academic year 2018-19, we have restructured this paraprofessional course once again into a heavy practical oriented programme with three specializations, namely, Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Social Science, and we plan to have the same design in the PG programme also.
As the Head of the Department of Rural Development Science, I invite students to join this paraprofessional programme of B.Sc RDS and M.Sc RD to get a lot of professional skills and practical knowledge in the field of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Social Sciences. It will be useful in your life to become a Rural Entrepreneur and to be employed in the government and private agencies working in the field of Rural Development. Once again I invite all the young minds to be a part of the RDS family. Welcome and All the best.
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